House Leaders Back Gejdenson Election Reform

November 13, 1991|By JOHN A. MacDONALD; Courant Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The House Democratic leadership threw its support behind a plan to reform the way congressional campaigns are financed Tuesday, but was cautious in predicting the vote when the full House takes up the proposal.

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, D-Wash., pledged to get a vote on the measure before Congress goes home for the year, probably just before Thanksgiving. Foley made the promise as Connecticut Rep. Sam Gejdenson, D-2nd District, formally introduced the proposal, which a task force he heads has been working on since February.

But Rep. David E. Bonior, D-Mich., the Democratic whip, sounded a cautionary note. "I expect we may have some problems," he said, adding, "but I expect in the end we will get the votes to pass this legislation." Bonior, whose job is to get votes for Democratic legislation, also said the proposal may have to be altered, although he did not indicate how.

Gejdenson said public financing of campaigns is the biggest concern among Democrats, especially Southerners, a point confirmed by Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli, D-Ky.

"I recognize there are some pockets of resistance to this idea," Mazzoli said. "This is not a perfect bill. I don't believe even its main sponsor believes it's perfect."

The reform proposal would cost about $75 million every two years. As envisioned, the money would be raised by one or a combination of three sources -- a registration fee on political action committees, limiting the tax deductibility of business lobbying expenses or voluntary public contributions.

"We're looking at other things," Gejdenson said, referring to the financing proposals. Gejdenson had suggested a tax on advertising, but that was knocked out by the Democratic leaders.

Besides providing as much as $200,000 in public money to a candidate every two years, the proposal sets a first-time spending limit of $600,000 for candidates who voluntarily join the system and caps large contributions at a $200,000 total. The bill also caps at $200,000 the amount a candidate can raise from political action committees.

Rep. William M. Thomas, R-Calif., called the Gejdenson proposal fundamentally flawed and said Republicans will present a counterproposal in the next few days. Thomas said the Republican alternative will call for capping the amount candidates can raise outside their districts, eliminating contributions that do not now come under federal regulations and reducing individual contributions from political action committees.

The Democratic bill is the product of scores of meetings Gejdenson has had with fellow Democrats. For example, Gejdenson has met three times with freshmen, whose opinions often are not highly rated, in an effort to woo their votes.

Gejdenson's problem is that every House member understands and has won under the current system and has to be convinced that he or she will not be hurt if the rules change.

Even senior members have expressed differences. Mazzoli, who plans to vote for the overhaul, said he favored accepting no money from political action committees. And Gejdenson said he would prefer total public financing. "But we have to have something that will get through the political process," he said.

Noting these conflicting views, House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo., said: "This is a hard job. Every member of Congress is an expert on this kind of bill."

Still, Foley embraced the Gejdenson proposal. "I think it is a splendid and important step forward in dealing with the campaign finance issue," the speaker said.